Household Honor Text: 1 Timothy 5:1-6:2a Rev. John Downs We in the church are not just a random group of people who cross paths once a week on Sunday. Rather we have been knit together in Christ into a family …
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November 12, 2023
A Promised Departure and a Practical Devotion Text: 1 Timothy 4:1-16 Rev. John Downs Given the reality of deceitful spirits, not all spirituality is necessarily good. In his goodness to his people, God graciously exposes this to us so that …
November 5, 2023
The Mystery of Godliness Text: 1 Timothy 3:1-16 Rev. John Downs How are we to relate to an unseen God in a culture dominated by the visual? Most comprehensively, in the incarnation, God reveals himself to us in Christ. Beyond …
October 29, 2023
Holy Fruit and Holy Order Text: 1 Timothy 2:8-15 Rev. John Downs Even when it may grate against current cultural sensibilities, we do well to submit to the clear teaching of Scripture regarding the distinct and yet beautifully complementary roles …
October 22, 2023
Prayer and Salvation Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Rev. John Downs The ideas of scarcity and supply and demand may be useful in economic arenas to deal with things that are valuable, but not so in the Kingdom of God. The …
October 15, 2023
Doctrine and Doxology Text: 1 Timothy 1:1-20 Rev. John Downs In contrast to false doctrine, true doctrine comes to us from God himself and can be recognized by the good fruit it produces. While good doctrine is important for us …
October 8, 2023
The Way of Victory Text: Mark 15:42-16:8 Rev. John Downs Our Lord has entered in the darkness of this world and speaks to us, “Courage, dear heart.” He provides us the courage needed to stand firm in our convictions even …
October 1, 2023
Faithfulness in a Fractured World Text: Ezra 3:1-13 Rev. John Downs God is faithful to his covenant promises even to his people in exile or, in more contemporary terms, to us who live in a fractured world. We are not …
September 24, 2023
The Way of Death Text: Mark 15:16-41 Rev. John Downs It’s embedded deep within sinful human nature to want to run away from pain and embarrassment. In today’s account of the crucifixion of Jesus, the focus is less on the …
September 17, 2023
The Way of Deliverance Text: Mark 15:1-15 Rev. John Downs None of us needs to be persuaded that fear and evil lie within each human heart from birth. What we need instead is convincing that sin and its consequences have …